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Boarding Services

SMUS boarding students live with a caring and enthusiastic team of residential staff. We select our boarding staff carefully, which shows in their commitment to our students’ personal, social, and academic development.

Contacting Boarding Staff

The following is a directory of staff listed alphabetically by last name. Click on a staff member's name to get their email address.

If you need to speak with a boarding staff member during the day, call Evelyn Zapantis in Boarding Services at 250-370-6157 or call the main switchboard at 250-592-2411.

After school and in the evenings, you can call the boarding house offices:

House

Phone Number

Fax Number

Winslow/Barnacle House Office

250-370-6184

250-370-6144

Timmis/Bolton House Office

250-370-6185

250-370-6145

Symons/Harvey House Office

250-370-6186

250-370-6146

For after-hours phone numbers for house parents, see the "Contact Staff" section in the Boarders' Handbook.

Cell Phones

Parents and students can also set-up a cell phone account for the school year. Parents can have the bills either sent to their home address or make sure that the Boarding Services Office has the billing details necessary to forward bills to the student. Cell phone bills cannot be paid through the school.

Cell phone use is prohibited during the following hours

during prep time (6:30-8:30 pm Monday-Thursday);

during class time;

after curfew; and

before 6:00 am.

If using a cell phone, boarders should note that inappropriate use could result in confiscation.

Landlines

Boarders can have a landline phone activated in their room with authorization from their parents. The SMUS phone system in residence includes voicemail and competitive long-distance rates.

The options available are:

internal (campus-wide) and local (Victoria) service only;

internal, plus long distance; or

no service whatsoever.

Boarders should bring their own phones. The school charges a monthly user fee in addition to long distance charges, which are listed in a statement sent to parents. Students who use their phone inappropriately may have their phone lines removed.

No off-campus calls should be made from or come into boarders' rooms after curfew or before 6:00 am. In case of emergency, contact the house parents.

Laundry

Laundry staff handle the bulk of students’ clothes and deliver clean clothes to their rooms. Students can also do their own laundry in their boarding house, which is recommended if they need items right away. The school has commercial machines and we are able to handle large amounts of laundry. Students should not expect a one-day turnaround, nor should they bring back dirty laundry from their trips home.

Services

Name tags (free)

Name tags sewn in by seamstress

Mending or hemming

Mesh bags for small items

Dry-cleaning pick-up/drop-off twice a week

Mail

To send letters or small packages to students, senders should label the mail as below:

All deliveries to boarders must be sent to the Boarding Services Office; deliveries are never brought directly to the houses. All parcels, in addition to being marked with the boarder's name and address, should also say, "c/o Mrs. Evelyn Zapantis" to ensure there are no delivery mix-ups.

Students who are mailing letters or packages home can purchase postage from the Campus Shop or visit a post office in the nearby Hillside Mall. If the package is a priority, students can courier items through the school reception office and have the cost charged to their student account.

Travel

Students can travel to and from Victoria through the Victoria International Airport or the BC Ferries terminal at Swartz Bay. For long weekend and school breaks, SMUS runs a bus service to pick up and drop off boarders from the ferry terminal. Students can also arrange a shuttle bus to the airport through Akal Airporter.

Boarders without Borders

Boarders without Borders helps connect our boarding and day communities. Through this program, day families can host boarding students in their homes for a Sunday meal once or twice a year.

This initiative is greatly appreciated by the boarders, who enjoy a home-cooked meal and a family setting. The hosts enjoy having a guest who can tell them about different places and sometimes about other cultures. Boarders without Borders builds lasting friendships between boarding and day students.

Boarders’ Cake Service

Boarding parents can still celebrate their child's birthdays by sending them a cake through the Parents’ Auxiliary. Cakes can also be arranged for other events, including spectacular academic or athletic achievements.

Contact the Parents' Auxiliary at least four days before the cake-delivery date or fill out the Cakes Service form provided in the registration package.